Could Trump Win the Republican Nomination?

According to RasmussenReports.com, Donald Trump is currently the favorite amongst "Likely Republican Primary Voters" to be the GOP's nominee for president in 2012.

The latest poll from Rasmussen has Donald Trump at 19%, Mitt Romney at 17% and Mike Huckabee at 15%. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are tied for fourth place, as both potential candidates have 9% of "Likely Republican Primary Voters" backing them.

Donald Trump has been hinting at a possible run for President in 2012, but nothing has been made official as of yet. According to various sources, Trump may or may not be announcing his plans at the season finale of "Celebrity Apprentice" later in May.

One thing is for sure - even though Trump may not end up running for President in 2012, he is certainly making waves, and the entire country is taking notice.

In January, before Trump started "making noises" about a possible run for President, Mitt Romney had 24% support of "Likely Republican Primary Voters". Palin had 19% support back in January, while Huckabee was at 17% and Gingrich 11%.

In just four months, Trump has been able to win over nearly 20% of likely Republican primary voters, slingshotting himself into first place.

Whether or not Trump's surge lasts is another story altogether. Some Republican voters are wildly supportive of Trump, while others are very put off by him. Trump has been very successful in regards to keeping his name in the news over the past few months, the result of talking publicly about OPEC or China or Obama's birth certificate or Obama's post-secondary schooling.

It remains to be seen if Trump will actually run for President in 2012, but one thing is for sure - he is certainly making things "interesting".